1Swiss NCCR “LIVES—Overcoming Vulnerability: Life Course Perspectives,” University of Geneva, Geneva, SWITZERLAND; 2Department of General Internal Medicine, Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, University of Geneva, Geneva, SWITZERLAND; 3Unit of Population Epidemiology, Department of Community Medicine, Primary Care and Emergency Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, SWITZERLAND; 4Department of Epidemiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; 5Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, SWITZERLAND; 6Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, SWITZERLAND; 7Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Gerontology and Vulnerability, University of Geneva, Geneva, SWITZERLAND; 8KU Leuven, Movement Control and Neuroplasticity Research Group, Department of Movement Sciences, Leuven, BELGIUM; and 9Brain Behavior Laboratory, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA

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Abstract

PurposeThis study aimed to investigate the associations between early- and adult-life socioeconomic circumstances and physical inactivity (level and evolution) in aging using large-scale longitudinal data.MethodsThis study used the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe, a 10-yr population-based cohort study with repeated measurements in five waves, every 2 yr between 2004 and 2013. Self-reported physical inactivity (waves 1, 2, 4, and 5), household income (waves 1, 2, 4, and 5), educational attainment (wave of the first measurement occasion), and early-life socioeconomic circumstance (wave 3) were collected in 22,846 individuals 50 to 95 yr of age.ResultsRisk of physical inactivity was increased for women with the most disadvantaged early-life socioeconomic circumstances (odds ratio [OR], 1.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20–1.86). With aging, the risk of physical inactivity increased for both sexes and was strongest for those with the most disadvantaged early-life socioeconomic circumstances (OR, 1.04 (95% CI, 1.02–1.06) for women; OR, 1.02 (95% CI, 1.00–1.05) for men), with the former effect being more robust than the latter one. The association between early-life socioeconomic circumstances and physical inactivity was mediated by adult-life socioeconomic circumstances, with education being the strongest mediator.ConclusionsEarly-life socioeconomic circumstances predicted high levels of physical inactivity at older ages, but this effect was mediated by socioeconomic indicators in adult life. This finding has implications for public health policies, which should continue to promote education to reduce physical inactivity in people at older ages and to ensure optimal healthy aging trajectories, especially among women with disadvantaged early-life socioeconomic circumstances.